Appreciative Love

Luke 7:36-50, A sinful woman comes into a house uninvited. She knows that Jesus is there. She does not run in fear of the home owner, who she knows will judge her. She is fully aware of what her life has looked like. She enters and does not even return his stare of judgement and condemnation, her eyes are fixed upon her Savior. She goes right to Jesus' feet and cries. Her long hair is her only way to wipe away the tears that have been pouring upon her Savior's feet. She knows that there is no judgement given from the only one who truly matters. Her heart is free to go into any setting and find Him there waiting to protect her from others who would rather she never even left her own home, much less entered theirs.

Jesus in His warmth and wisdom looks at her but speaks to her accuser. (You must read the entire verse to really understand the whole picture.) "...I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown." I love this verse! Her many sins have been forgiven AS her great love has shown. She loved much BECAUSE she was loved first. She did not have to earn her forgiveness. She did not come to Jesus begging Him to save her. She did not come in, fearful and unsure of His reaction toward her. She knew. She came in out of appreciation toward Him. She came in thanking Him for not condemning her. She came in knowing that He really knew why those things had happened to her and why she chose to respond the way she did. She knew that she could walk anywhere with her head held high, for she knew the only One that really mattered was Jesus and she loved Him more than others could ever understand, for she appreciated His love more.

"Appreciative love endures because it is rooted int the very source of our being, not merely in our behaving... we can pause and say thank you... there is a fusing of love with gratitude. Appreciative love says, 'Thank you.'... our response to God, is a love that loves out of gratitude to Him." (Ravi Zacharias, Cries of the Heart)

Why do I do the good things that I do? Why do I try with all my mind, heart, and strength to please Him? It is not to earn His love or His approval. It is to say, "Thank You." I have changed my living. I no longer lust after the things of this world, because I appreciate His love and I want to say "thank you" with my life. I know how much I have been forgiven. I am very aware of the paths that I have chosen. I know how much I am loved, for He forgave me, then I washed His feet and dried them with my hair. My life has changed out of appreciation to Him.

"But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you,” (Psalm 81:15). "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:102).

My God is not something or someone that I live in fear of. He is sweeter than honey. He is so sweet that I can only handle Him in small doses. He does not give us all of Himself all at once, for He knows that we would not be able to stomach Him. The rocks of my life have been the hard times that I have traveled through. He has taken those times and changed them to honey that feeds me. I have learned more about His love through the memory of my past and can taste His kindness, for I know I have been forgiven much. Maybe it is not all about "doing" the right thing, but about knowing How truly sweet He is. Maybe if we really know Him then that will give us the strength to say "Thank You" with our changed lives. It really is all about our Appreciative Love. Do I love Him enough to allow Him to change my life?